S5, E1 | To Sleep Within the Peace of Violence

​Season 5 Premiere

\ Eleven Months Later /

“Alright, you tragic drunks- get out of my bar” Jasmine proclaims, gesturing her hands toward the front doors that her patrons begin to drunkenly stumble toward. “Go beat up your wives or something, just do whatever it is somewhere else” she reiterates, continuing to gently shove older men through the dining room and toward the building’s entrance, ceasing the evening of banter and liquid courage whilst it’s still young.

Through groans and amused laughter, the drunken citizens of a post-Cody era in Lancaster spill into the street and listen to the mechanisms within the tavern’s door shift to lock it. With ease, Jasmine tugs at the string to the curtain that hangs over the door’s long, glass centre to shut off the sight of what resides within from the outside world. “The coast is clear” she speaks aloud, turning back for the wider room before beginning to step toward the bar.

Along her journey, the woman’s fingers wrap around the backs of each stool and seat that had been left toppled over or distanced from the tables they’d originally come from- the aftermath of a drunken gathering most know the familiar sights of. Along the wooden frames that span across the ceiling, balls of orange lights hang from cords that eventually connect to the closest outlet available, having replaced the old ceiling-mounted bulbs to present a more personal and relaxed vibe.

“You closed twenty minutes late” Kennedy complains, the first to step out from the breakroom just beyond the bar, her mother following shortly thereafter. “When the five of you shake that ‘fugitive’ label Julia’s given you, I’ll let you take a crack at trying to weed out a room full of drunken dudes in their fifties reliving the glory days, Kennedy” Jasmine responds, watching a visibly exhausted Kayla follow Alex through the doorway.

“I’m sure I’d be much better at it than you are” Kennedy responds, the appearance of visible cabin fever having given her the urge to just move about freely- regardless of the reason behind it. “I have a hard time disagreeing with Ken” Kayla remarks, tilting her head toward her right shoulder as the muscles within her neck pull and pop with satisfying resonance, “you’re seasoned at this, Jasmine- but if I were in your shoes, I’d be a lot less pleasant if those dudes started getting handsy.”

“If they tip well and don’t ruin the mood for the rest of my customers, I don’t really think much about how often they slap my ass” Jasmine replies, continuing to push in the stools that have been strewn about her bar whilst the conversation ensues, “I just want them to drink, pay, and leave.”

“I’m glad that mindset’s endured the end-times” Chevy interjects as he steps further into the bar, sharing the same exhaustion his wife wears whilst taking a hold of a half-drunk bottle of liquor from the counter. “Society’s still here. That means there are still people for me to not like and prefer hiding away from” Jasmine expresses, rolling her eyes at the sight of the man wrapping his lips around the bottle’s rim.

“That’s the spirit” Kennedy quips sarcastically, walking to the opposite side of the bar where a plethora of cardboard boxes sits- patiently waiting to be unpacked. “Well go ahead and tell me what other spirit there is to have, Kennedy” Jasmine responds, shaking her head with a slight frown carried over her face, “Lancaster’s a mess, Los Angeles is a one-party state and the NDF is more concerned with policing than they are with protecting. See the looting and riots if you need evidence of that.”

“I made a comment, Jasmine. I never said anything about it being deserved” Kennedy retorts, sporting an equal-displeasure in the tone of her voice, almost as if she’d already accepted defeat and were just treading water like the others. “Let’s not get snippy with each other” Alex comments aloud from the centre of the room, helping the bartender slide in chairs whilst her youngest daughter carries a cardboard box of refilled liquor bottles to the tavern’s counter.

“Why not? Everyone’s fighting nowadays... It’s practically our national pastime” Jasmine responds, taking as little offence to Kennedy’s rebuke as she does care over returning the favour. “That doesn’t mean we need to fall to the same shit the rest of the city has” Alex retorts, only for her eyes to be taken back to the exit from the backrooms, her eldest daughter’s voice capturing her ears.

“I think it’s already a little too late for that” Jaime replies, rubbing her eyes as the nap she’d taken to pass the time between the tavern’s opening and closing presents wrinkles around her biceps and forearms. “Why? Just because you made some wrong calls? Just because a selfish wench took over your city and turned its morale upside down?” Alex questions back, seemingly the only one of the group with an optimistic bone still left in her body, “is that supposed to be why?”

“No, but I’d be willing to argue that our fortune over the last year has a good deal to do with it” Jaime responds, a bitter visage sported similar to that of her younger sister as hands fall upon her hips. “If anything, I’d be willing to argue the exact opposite” Alex replies, unopposed to the idea of challenging her offspring’s conclusion, “we can’t expect to live in the breakroom of Jasmine’s tavern- as appreciative as we are for her hospitality- forever, right?”

“We’ve been asking ourselves that same question for a little over eleven months now, Alex” Kayla replies from the counter, pulling a stool off to the side in an effort to clear Kennedy a pathway to the serving area. “We’ve never had much of an answer before, and I highly doubt we’re going to come up with one now” Jaime continues on, joining her friends at taking a seat along the counter, “so just drop it, alright mom?”

“No. We might not come up with one tonight, but I’m not dropping that question until we do find an answer” Alex replies, watching her daughter shake her head with disappointment as she climbs upon the nearest seat. “Well you have fun with that, mom” Jaime responds, bowing her head toward Kayla whilst accepting the bottle that’s passed to her, “in the meantime, the rest of us will sit around and shoot the shit while you do... whatever it is you’ll be doing.”

Clattering together with a pleasing ring, Kennedy unloads one bottle of liquor after another into their respective places along the tavern’s walls and inner corners, doing the bartender’s job with joy. Puckering her lips, Alex hangs her head and tucks her thumbs into the seams of her pockets whilst Jasmine watches on, having paused her duties to take notice of the mother’s demeanour.

Standing along the backdrop of hardwood walls, Alex remains dejected at the conversation’s conclusion as the building’s legal tenant watches on, incapable of feeling anything less than sorry for the result in which she’d received. “I wouldn’t wait too much longer in finding one if I were any of you, though” Jasmine interrupts, prompting both Chevy and Kayla to turn toward her, the former chancellor’s eyes remaining glued to the bottle whilst her sister continues about her chore.

“Why is that?” Chevy inquires, resting the ball of his elbow against the wooden countertop as he stares into the distance, eyes making it to the room’s centre. “Because I’ve heard rumblings that the NDF will be coming through Lancaster for something soon enough” Jasmine explains, continuing to slide in chairs whilst peering toward the mother every few seconds, “if they decide to go around doing inspections, there’s not much that I can do to keep y’all hidden.”

“And you’ve just decided to tell us this now?” Kayla wonders aloud, the tone of a woman confused by the sudden revelation made clear. “I only just got a flyer in the mailbox this morning confirming it. I’d just figured it was nothing more than speculation amongst the people as per usual” Jasmine answers, shrugging her shoulders toward the larger group’s direction, “I don’t know what it means for me, but I’m not fucking around with what to expect out of them.”

“So what does that mean for us?” Kennedy inquires, her repeated process of putting one bottle away after another having now stalled, “do we have to leave?” Shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head as she continues about business, Jasmine speaks through her duties. “I’d certainly prefer you leave if that happened than to just stand around and get captured” she replies, passing a glance to the youngest of the group, “that’d get you all killed- myself likely included.”

“Great” Jaime sarcastically rebuttals, putting down the bottle of liquor before sliding it into the awaiting palm of Chevy’s open hand, spinning around in the seat she occupies to rejoin the tavern’s main floor. “So, does this mean we’re reopening that earlier conversation about where we go after all of this isn’t safe anymore?” Alex inquires, watching her daughter’s perturbed expression meet her.

“Even if it did, what good would it do?” Jaime inquires, half-heartedly accepting the need to discuss matters in that moment whilst crossing her arms, still sceptical of anything than can be presented. “It would give us all a chance to- in good faith- talk about where we all go next” Alex answers honestly, overhearing a faint scoff out of Kayla at the notion whilst her eldest daughter grins with eyes staring into the distance.

“Alright, mom. Let’s talk about it in good faith” Jaime soon replies, pulling out one of the seats the bartender had pushed inward, occupying it and letting an arm rest against the nearby table, “where do we all go next and how do we get there?”

With lips parted, Alex runs the tip of her tongue against the bottom one and looks away with hands placed against her hip, the lengthy pause she first responds with opening the floor for her daughter to provide the answer. “I’m glad we’re all on the same page in admitting that we’ve got no fucking clue” Jaime says with a shit-eating smirk, nodding her head whilst patting the table with her outstretched fingers, “it was a great talk and I can’t wait to do it all over a-.”

“We’ll go somewhere further out. Somewhere north, or maybe we can head east until we get past Las Vegas” Alex replies, immediately being reacted to with a groan and animatedly-pained expression from the woman across from her. “Mom, can’t you just accept that we’re screwed and there’s no changing that!?” Jaime exclaims, growing tired of the repetitive questions that all receive the same lack of an answer- the toll it takes now begins to weigh heavily upon her.

“I’d prefer not to accept that, thank you very much” Alex retorts, her daughter’s eyes rolling as she turns away, beginning to walk back for the countertop. “I don’t care if the NDF seems unbeatable. I don’t care if Lancaster is a shit show or if Julia is burning that chair you used to sit at in a symbolic bonfire! I’d prefer to think there’s a way out of this that isn’t just waiting for fate to come force our hand!” the mother continues.

“I always used to think it was my generation that got ‘I feel like’ mixed up with ‘the fact is’ without a second thought, but maybe I was wrong” Jaime quips aloud, shaking her head in the direction of the woman who’d given birth to her, “the fact of the matter is that we’re stranded here without a way out no matter what you’d like to believe, mom. No amount of hope or prayer is going to change that fact, alright?”

“Then why don’t I step outside that door right now?” Alex questions, pointing to the tavern’s entrance whilst the rest of the room watches on, the bartender as captivated as the survivors of the republic’s fallen order. “If we’re screwed, then there’s no reason to just stay in here indefinitely. If we’re all done for, why not just get it all over with?” the mother inquires, allowing the lack of an immediate answer to prompt her journeying for the front door.

“Mom” Jaime says with a breathy sigh, hanging her head as a calm prevention to usher the woman away from the entrance. Calming herself, Alex turns back for the room and stares at her daughter, who continues to hang her head and think quietly amongst herself, waiting for any set of words to keep her from entering the open with nothing to protect her.

“The only reason we’re still here is because our hand has never been forced. Tearing through Lancaster with a spot in mind hoping that it’ll be safe there has always been too dangerous to risk without a reason” Jaime explains, clarifying their motivations beyond what’s arguable. “And what happens when that day does come- as Jasmine’s made it clear that it might?” Alex challenges, daring her daughter to reclaim her role of leadership in answering the question.

“Then I’ll get you all somewhere where you’ll be safe” Jaime responds, a strange distancing of herself from the others slipping through the remark she makes, one that she’s aware her mother has caught onto. “I don’t know where that place is, but when the day comes- we’ll go looking for it. That’s where you’ll stay and where you’ll go on to live whatever lives you’re going to” she reassures, coming clean about her motivations now that there’s nowhere else to turn.

Keeping to themselves, Chevy and Kayla watch on at the interaction whilst Kennedy stares confused, the same reaction as her mother, who holds the power of calling such distance into question. “And what about you?” Alex inquires, proceeding through the silence that immediately follows her daughter’s words.

With steady eyes, Jaime chooses to reaffirm her stance and remain honest in her delivery, not missing a beat as the rest of the group watches on without a peep. “I made a promise to Julia. And for that matter, I made a promise to Wade too” the deposed chancellor responds, her rigid and grizzled tone carrying the words of a woman possessed by the need to finish what she’d started and carry out the declaration she’d made long ago, “there’s no life for me to live until the two of them are dead.”

= Dire is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 from the start of Season 1 onwards =

Walking with a face of displeasure, Wade leads two lines of armed guards through the foremost corridor of the building that had once stood as the capitol of the Angelino Republic with a half-scowl. In silence, the man’s march carries him to the very depths of the passageway, its walls now lined with framed artwork that had been snatched up from museums and private households throughout the mass of land that had been known as Los Angeles in a past life.

“Ms. Avallone” the man remarks, stepping past an armed guard of the chancellor’s own and through an already-open door to find the woman awaiting his arrival. “Thanks for meeting me on such short notice” Julia replies, climbing out of her chair and extending her hand, hoping for it to find the palm of the NDF’s leader, only for him to take a seat of his own volition without reciprocating the gesture.

“I’ve told you not to contact me unless absolutely necessary. Furthermore, I’ve instructed you to only request an in-person meeting when equally in need” Wade explains, clearly dissatisfied with having to find himself in the room which he does, “I’d like to make it clear that- whatever this meeting is about- better be worth both my time and my presence.”

“You also made it reasonably clear that there were things you’d like be made aware of at all costs before they’re follow through upon” Julia retorts, watching the man’s lifted eyebrows meet her as the hand she’d stretched outward lowers back, joining her as she reenters the comfort of her seat. “I am well aware. Disputes beyond your half of the city, claims over lands beyond the coastline and interactions with any such forces are pretty much the only things that qualify here” Wade responds.

“Exactly. Which means that- by your own qualifications- this is something that your presence is required for” Julia explains, holding the palms of both hands up for the man to inspect for himself, “regardless of the outcome to this discussion... My hands are clean. You- yourself- asked to be brought in.”

“Then let’s not waste any more time than we already have” Wade rebukes, undoing the lone button that had held each end of his suit jacket together, “why am I here?”

“Because I’d like to help you get ahead of schedule with your ingratiation of the outlying territories into the NDF” Julia replies, her introduction to the subject earning the man’s interest as it was hoped to. “Of course, this includes the small camps we’ve set up between there and here- but this mainly pertains to Lancaster” the chancellor recapitulates, crossing one leg over the other as she sinks further into her seat, “I want to put an end to this self-governance deal we’ve got going on.”

“Why? It was your idea” Wade responds, lifting the knuckle of his right index finger to the base of his chin, “is there a threat they pose that makes you desire to take them under the city’s wing?” Shaking her head, Julia expresses her refusal before she can voice it aloud, softly introducing the man to her opinion before placing it into words.

“No, but the longer they continue to operate mostly-independent of this place, the more the people will become accustomed to their own self determination” Julia explains, not finding much of an argument otherwise from her distinguished company, “I’m sure the NDF wouldn’t allow that self-governance to carry on after I’m gone, so why not nip it in the bud before anyone gets too comfortable with it.”

“Explain what your reason for installing it in the first place was then” Wade responds, trying to uncover the deeper roots of such a motivation that could be lurking beneath the surface of his acquaintance’s purposefully-murky waters. “They’d just lost their leader. It was some skirmish he must’ve gotten into. Either way- he died” Julia explains, wiping her hands clean of the ordeal, “we had a deal that went when he did. It seemed advantageous to let them clean up their own mess.”

“And now it doesn’t?” Wade questions, continuing to try and search for what may be hidden beyond what his view is afforded. “Oh no, it’s just not necessary anymore” Julia replies, folding her hands upon her lap whilst her elbows rest against the leather armrests to each side, “they did it. On their own, the businesses opened back up again, the people carried on with life, and- even though they had some obvious questions- a few vague answers seem to have held them over and helped them forget.”

“So what’s the issue?” Wade continues to wonder aloud, finding himself able to see through the metaphorical waters, though still unwaveringly hesitant to buy into what he believes is a less than transparent tide. “There’s no issue. Like I said, it’s just better to keep them from getting too comfortable with being in charge of themselves. That won’t be the norm after a while, so why not start getting them antiquated with that quality of life?” Julia questions, “you’ll take over soon anyway.”

“I suppose I’m just not seeing eye to eye with you over why it has to happen now- that’s all” Wade follows through, leaning forward in his seat with one arm draped over the edge of the chancellor’s desk. “I’m not saying it has to, I’m just saying it’d be beneficial to” Julia reassures, eyeing the man’s change in posture and dismissing it as unimportant, “if we get them under the republic’s wing now, you’ll already be there by the time you set me up in that beach house I asked for in paradise.”

With a smile, Wade’s eyes take toward an unimportant side of the office and stare toward a dark corner, allowing his mind a freedom from sight as he ponders what to say next. “Ms. Avallone, the people here are barely reacting well to our presence as it is. You’ve proven to be able to keep them cooperative, but they’re hardly over the moon about us being here” the man explains, “why should we expend any of our strength in claiming Lancaster as our own when we’ve yet to settle things here?”

“Because I’ll be taking Lancaster in. Your troops and other forces can stay here while you take in the sights from your penthouse downtown while my men and women get their hands dirty up north” Julia explains, letting her draped-over foot bounce in mid air. “Besides, it might also help me get down to those magnificent beaches in the middle of the Pacific a whole lot sooner” the chancellor doubles down, putting a smirk over the NDF leader’s face, “and I like the sound of that.”

Lowering his amused expression back to the one of reserved patience and distrust, Wade sits with his thoughts and leans back in his seat, passing a glance to one of the guards stationed nearby. Considering the proposition, the NDF representative stares at the ground for a moment before looking back into the woman’s face, curious to what may yet to be spoken.

“What do you stand to gain from this? Aside from an earlier retirement to paradise, there’s got to be something more for you” Wade explains, making it clear that he feels not all is being shared between the two, “is there a revolution brewing that I don’t know about? Is the dissatisfaction amongst the people something more to do with you than what we know about?”

“The people are happy and fat and that’s all that matters” Julia responds, watching the shake in her company’s head tell the tale of someone clearly in objection to such a statement. “The people are going to work, coming home with food to feed their families, and going out to do the same thing the next day” Wade interjects, refusing the notion, “Under Jaime, they were happy and fat. Under you, they’re just going to work to put a meal on their plate and repeat the cycle.”

“And under the new rules that you and I have worked to lay out in this city masquerading as a republic, ‘happy and fat’ really just means ‘cooperative and non-threatening’” Julia counters, dismissing the opinion of the people who simply act in society so as not to starve, “they may have been happier under Jaime’s government, but they were guaranteed nothing. As long as they don’t start trouble, my government at least guarantees that they’ll get to stay alive.”

“And how long will it be until they decide that the shackles we’ve put on them are no longer worth living with?” Wade questions back, watching the chancellor’s hands uncouple so as to raise a finger toward his direction. “There it is. You’ve finally gotten the reason that you’ve sought after” Julia responds, confessing to the motivation that she’d buried below the surface of her murky presentation, “whenever they decide there's a reason for another Angelino Spring, I want to be long gone.”

“And going into Lancaster is your ticket onto the next ship out?” Wade questions, immediately watching the chancellor lean into her seat and mimic his former stance, leaning against a crooked arm she presses into the surface of her desk. “You’re goddamn right it is” Julia admits with a smile, pleased with the conclusion they’ve come to and confident it will result in her obtaining the permission she’d sought out the leader’s offering of.

|

Locking the deadbolt on the front door, Jasmine pulls the curtain over the front door to put an end to yet another shift, freeing the disorganised room for her smuggled allies to venture toward once more. “Help yourselves to whatever’s left lying around” the woman proclaims, hearing the first set of footsteps venture out from within the backroom, immediately taking them to the kitchen, where an assortment of dirty glasses await a thorough rinse and wash.

“Nothing for me tonight” Jaime proclaims, the second soul to escape the room at the tavern’s rear, the married couple casually following her lead shortly thereafter. “Same for us” Chevy declares, collecting an assortment of glass bottles that the now-departed patrons had left behind in an effort to empty them out one at a time. “Yeah, the whole threat of the NDF coming around for inspections kind of hampers our comfort in being anything less than sober” Kayla doubles down.

Pushing in a few chairs, Jasmine lifts her eyes toward the ceiling whilst Alex traipses out from the breakroom, the final member of the group to join the overnight gathering. “I thought you said people didn’t get drunk after just one drink?” Kennedy inquires, raising the question toward the married couple that make up the set she considers to be a second family before dipping through the entrance to the kitchen.

“They don’t. I was just looking for a reason to keep you from trying to sneak a drink behind anyone’s backs” Chevy responds, collecting a pile of thirty discarded bottles near the countertop’s halfway point as his wife nears closer to help. Pulling her bottom lip inward with the suction of her tongue, Jasmine continues to organise the seats in the room as a thought weighs heavily on her conscience, only making itself louder as the conversations of those around her fall silent.

With the legs of one chair dragging along the ground a few paces beside her, the bartender’s eyes take toward a slightly downtrodden Alex, who carries on with her usual duties of assisting the woman in returning seats to their rightful places. Standing in place as the mother moves onto the next stool out of order, Jasmine stares at the ground amidst the sound of hustle and bustle that comes from the work of those around her, coming clean to the truth she’d concealed the night prior.

“There was no notice from the NDF” Jasmine explains, feeling her conscience grow heavier with each passing second that those around her in all directions sit with anxieties high. “I lied last night to try and help Alex get the rest of you to talk about where to go next” the bartender continues, both Jaime and her mother taking eyes toward her whilst Chevy and Kayla split their attention between the discussion and their emptying of each glass.

In silence, the former leader of a republic that’s now- and honestly always has been- anything but stares toward the woman without a word, questioning herself internally for a moment. “So they’re not coming?” Jaime inquires, shrugging her shoulders before snatching a bottle from her friends’ pile and taking it to her lips upon the tavern’s keeper shaking her head in refusal.

“Alright then” the woman answers, sipping from the bottle without the outburst of displeasure that the bartender had been anticipating. “You’re okay with that?” Kayla questions aloud, not very disheartened by the false information they’d been fed the night before, but visibly less enthused about it than the former chancellor appears to be.

“Well duh. You think I liked waiting for the people in suits to show up all day?” Jaime retorts, downing her swig of the beverage with lifted eyebrows, not showing an ounce of irritation whatsoever, “grab one of those bottles and let’s get to drinking.”

Confused and unsure of what to make out of their friend’s demeanour, Chevy and Kayla stare in bewilderment as the young woman in the kitchen re-emerges from her seclusion. “What does that mean for our plan?” Kennedy wonders aloud, sparking intrigue from the tavern’s owner, who looks toward her with widened eyes.

“It means we don’t have to worry about any of it just yet, Ken” Jaime responds as the bottle lowers from her lips, the tip of her tongue dancing across the brown glass’ rim. “Wait, you really made a plan?” Jasmine questions, stepping away from the bar’s centre at the announcement of such detail, “when was this?”

“After you left for the night, mom went into the back for a smoke and Chevy and Kayla snuck off to fuck in the bathroom” Jaime casually replies, bringing slight ignominy over the married couple and a brief shame over the present mother. “Jaime said we’d go back to our old home since it’s outside of where Julia and the NDF are” Kennedy answers, watching her sister silently nod at the plot they’d secretly crafted.

“The old- you mean the one we shared with your-?” Alex stutters, the conclusion she speaks of being one that the deposed chancellor doubles down on. “Yes, the one we shared before the catalyst mom... That home” Jaime responds, spinning around in her seat before leaning against the counter, lifting the bottle to her lip for a second time, “you wanted us to make a plan, so we made one. Whether you care for it or not doesn’t matter to me. So now, you can stop incessantly asking the question.”

“We can’t go back to that home, Jaime” Alex argues back, immediately watching her daughter lift the drink to her lips yet again, enduring her parent’s response in order to wait for an opportunity to dismiss it. “Number one, it’s too far away to safely get to. Number two, it’s too close to the republic as is for it to be truly safe” the woman continues on, watching her daughter sigh in relief at the finished sip of lite beer, “and number three, I’m sure Julia and Wade would know to look there.”

“I will gladly welcome any alternative that you have to offer, but as last night showed- you don’t have one” Jaime confesses, stepping off the stool with a disparaging attitude toward the conversation that appears to be unfolding once again. “Look, can we all just take a second to admit that we’re not in the most enviable of positions here?” the former leader wonders aloud, passing a glance to all that surround the tavern’s gathering room.

“Hell, we’ve all spent the better part of the last year and a half being stripped of any and every reason to have the slightest hope for what comes next anyway” Jaime proclaims, evidence that she points out and fails to find an argument against, “I lost Kate, and Jordan, and the republic. Kennedy watched Amelia die, Chevy and Kayla went through a miscarriage, and even mom lost David. If there was any group that had the best year of their lives... It sure as hell isn’t us.”

“And instead of doing something about it, we’re hiding out in the bar of a town that smuggled slaves in to put together cheap goods in order to operate” Alex calmly replies, only for her daughter’s raised voice to project itself back toward her. “You’re damn right we are because we’ve got no other fucking choice!” Jaime screams back, her passive aggressive and partially placid presentation falling aside immediately in favour of a hearty and passionate explosion of emotion.

“I let a woman play me like a fucking fool and take away everything from me! My republic, my trust, my fucking fiance! SHE TOOK IT ALL AWAY!” Jaime explodes, irate in ways she doesn’t believe she’d ever felt before, “the only source of comfort that I ever take nowadays is the thought that there’s still a chance for me to go out and brutally massacre the same people that have gotten me here- that have gotten all of us here! The only comfort I have in life is a vicious cycle of murder!”

Pressing her lips together, Alex stares into the face of her daughter with sorrow whilst she continues to speak, seeing the fragile display of unenthused composure break like glass behind the weight of a baseball. “I spend every second of the day- when not asleep- dreaming of the moment where I can finally take away from Wade and Julia what they took away from me” Jaime confesses, tears streaming down her enraged face, “and I do that knowing they’re un-fucking-touchable now.”

In the background, Chevy and Kayla keep to themselves as Kennedy slips behind the counter, taking comfort in standing between them and wrapping her arms around their waists, hugging them the way she can’t hold her mother and sister. “I may have made the wrong calls to get here, but it’s them that took everything away from me and I have no chance in hell at getting them back for it” Jaime continues to declare, incapable of keeping her tense body from shaking.

Off to the side, Jasmine stares with disheartened eyes at the discussion that’s had before her, having never truly felt the kind of pain that the group had been enduring in literal silence. “The only reason I keep waking up every day is so I can get that one moment where luck falls in my direction and I get finally get my revenge” Jaime proceeds, not hesitating in carrying on, “that’s what I live for now. My life’s purpose has become seeing Julia and Wade writhe in pain for what they’ve done.”

Without a response, Alex steps forward and wraps her arms around the woman once referred to as ‘a broken little girl from a broken little home’, too overwhelmed by emotion to do anything more than pull her close. Without a fight, Jaime instantly falls silent, her tears staining the shirt over her mother’s shoulder as her face presses against the woman, her body held close for comfort that befalls the two of them.

Without uttering a peep, the mother and daughter embrace brings a momentary peace over the room, one that the three souls off to the bar’s side experience for themselves amidst each other’s loving hug.

“New Democratic Front... Open up!” a voice calls out as a closed fist repeatedly slams against the wooden frame of the tavern’s entrance, unable to collide with the glass panel before his eyes. Taking away from each other’s touch, the five stowaways that the tavern houses immediate enter a state of panic and confusion, the shared tranquillity that they’d just welcomed instantly dissipating.

“I thought you said you were lying!” Alex hisses back, turning to look at the bartender with eyes of betrayal, only to see an equal shock and surprise in the woman’s face meet her own. “I was!” Jasmine retorts, unable to say a word more before a second set of knocks further demand her attention. “This is your last chance to open the door before we break through this glass!” the NDF soldier proclaims, barking an order to those within- who are uncertain if he’d heard any of the prior discourse.

“I’m coming, hold on!” Jasmine shouts, walking up to the mother and daughter before quickly shoving them toward the direction of the backroom. “Either hide somewhere back there or slip through the backdoor” the woman commands, passing her orders off to the embracing mother and daughter as quietly as she can, “either way, just don’t get cau-!”

As if impatient or distrusting of the tavern’s owner, the commanding NDF officer slams his rifle’s base against the glass pane and shatters the entrance, not offering the bartender a chance to approach the bar’s front. “Go now!” Jasmine suddenly shouts, watching the curtain flow inward as the first soldier steps through the violently-made entrance, overhearing the declaration before looking forward to face the commotion.

“What the-!?” the soldier exclaims, instinctively reacting with confusion at the sight of the five fugitives whose faces have been burned into his memory by this point, yet to act for the first two seconds. Upon the sound of shattering glass, Chevy leaps into action and climbs over the bar’s counter, hurrying past the three souls that stand between himself and the intruder before swinging his fist at the soldier’s face, taking him to the ground and immediately disarming him.

“Put the-!” a second soldier commands, unable to utter a word further before he and two other NDF officers feel the various punctures throughout their body of the man’s opened fire. “Chevy!” Kennedy exclaims, joining Kayla in rounding the bar counter to assist the man that now ducks for cover beside the door, hearing gunshots ring throughout the air and through the still-downed curtain.

“Go!” Chevy barks, too embroiled within the chaos to even take notice of the unconsciousness he’d sent the first soldier in- the man now just lying on the ground in a heap as his colleagues are picked off by his assailant. “Stop shooting!” a man exclaims from outside the tavern, only for his orders to be disobeyed when the gunman puts two slugs through his cheek.

“Get down!” Jaime exclaims, shoving Jasmine and her mother toward Kennedy and Kayla’s direction before zipping onward, throwing herself into the body of the first soldier and searching him for anything to aid in the altercation. “Jaime, go to the others and get somewhere safe!” Chevy orders, made aware of the woman’s refusal when she unholsters a knife and a pistol from the officer’s tactical belt.

“If we’ve made anything clear to each other by now, it’s that none of us are leaving each other high and dry!” Jaime responds, snatching two clips from the soldier before taking cover on the opposite side of the door from the man. “Jaime, I’m not kidding!” Chevy retorts, peaking around the wall to spot a few NDF mercenaries hurrying for cover behind a car parked closely nearby.

“Neither am I!” Jaime exclaims, peering around the corner and opening fire on the first soldier that comes into her sight, watching blood spew from his neck once her bullet impales him. In silence, the remaining four survivors duck into the breakroom and into cover, hurrying as if they had poor intentions on their mind.

“Jaime, just get back and look after Kayla if I don’t make it out of here!” the man barks, stepping out of cover once more to pierce another officer with bullets once he stands from behind a concrete pillar. “Not happening, Chevy. Just do what I say and we’ll make it out of here without a scratch!” Jaime shouts back, catching her breath and pausing to press her back against the wall, looking the man in the eyes as she goes to speak.

“I counted four people ducking behind that car a few yards away, alright? If we can take care of them, that should give us an opportunity to climb in and make a break for it” Jaime declares, unable to tell whether or not the mercenaries that surround them are aware of who opens fire in their direction.

“That’s the NDF’s car, Jaime! They’ve probably got trackers and other shit all over it!” Chevy rebukes, firing blindly into the air so as to provide them with a brief amount of cover fire. “So we’ll ditch it somewhere further up north and make out on foot or find a different car after that!” the discarded chancellor barks back, catching a glimpse of her group returning from the backroom with renewed vigour, readied with rifles of their own from Jasmine’s personal stash.

“It’s still our best bet at getting out of here!” Kayla chirps, gesturing for Kennedy to keep herself covered behind Chevy whilst joining her husband’s side in battle, both Alex and Jasmine occupying the side of Jaime. “There’s still way too many of them out there for us to just climb in and get it going!” the man rebukes, watching the former chancellor duck toward the ground and carefully aim her pistol, firing at the ankles of those that use the vehicle for protection.

In silence, the group watch the woman go to work with the firearm before she sports a pleasured grin, overjoyed with her work before glancing back for the man across from her, “they’re not a problem anymore.”

Though it’s delivered with a menacing and almost psychotic smirk, Chevy takes a strangely distinct delectation in the proclamation before opening fire into the distance again, coming to terms with the plan that’s been made.

From the safety of their various places of cover, the remaining members of the NDF’s frontline watch the building’s inhabitants slip through the door’s opening one at a time, racing for cover behind the vehicle with the aid of return fire. “We’re outnumbered now, sir!” an officer barks toward his superior, whose nostrils flare from the same anger that prompts his eye to squint.

“Well, whoever they are will have to shoot every last-” the irate superior proclaims, falling over his own words before his thought can even be finished as he spots one of the escapees from the corner of his eye. “Sir!?” the subordinate calls out, unable to hear the man’s conclusion as he remains in cover, unloading a few blind rounds toward their assailants as he waits for the man’s continued declaration, “sir!?”

Waiting to cover the rest of the group from the back, Jasmine remains within the tavern’s entrance as the group sprints through the shattered window, racing for the vehicle’s cover with reignited hopes that this will prove to be their way out of hiding. Letting out a deep sigh, the bartender performs the sign of the cross in hopes that any god watching over her and the other survivors will allow the outcome to be one that works in their favour.

Peering from around the cover of a rock off to the side of the dirt road, the subordinate glances back to find a face familiar to him rounding the front of the distant vehicle, her visage one imprinted upon the conscience of those that remain part of the Angelino Republic. “Is that Jaime Morris!?” the younger soldier questions aloud, looking back to his superior to watch the man take aim with his rifle, firing a shot that connects only with the ground she walks over.

Stepping ahead of Kennedy, Jasmine provides the young woman cover and provides her with a route to the backseat of the vehicle before catching a glimpse of the distant subordinate, who follows through on his superior’s shortcoming by emerging from cover with his rifle drawn at Jaime. Instinctively, the bartender glances toward the man’s side to find his presumed higher-rank as his eyes collide with her- his aim following suit whilst her opportunity dwindles.

Also rounding the vehicle’s front, Chevy steps into the open and draws his weapon toward the superior as a round is fired off, pulling his own trigger just as the older mercenary does. With the squeeze of her finger, Jasmine fires a bullet through the subordinate’s head just as his aim had been centred upon the deposed chancellor, squeezing her eyes shut to brace for the impact of his superior’s shot as it pierces her chest.

Closing off the trifecta of well-placed shots, Chevy sends a brass jacket ripping through the superior’s throat as a line of blood falls through the air alongside the body it’d spewed from- the shot fired just one second too late. “Jasmine!” Kennedy shouts, racing to the aid of the tavern’s owner as she stumbles backward, falling into the same shattered window she’d stepped through just seconds prior.

Unsure of whether or not the danger has been alleviated, Jaime braces for cover within the armoured truck’s driver’s seat as Chevy and Kayla race around the vehicle, hurrying to the call of her younger sister. “Ken!” Alex calls out as the married couple near closer, hurrying after her daughter as the young girl leaps through the tavern’s broken entrance.

“Kennedy, go!” Jasmine groans, struggling to breathe as her hand applies pressure to the bullet wound that clogs her airways, limiting the time she has to spend amongst the living substantially. “Kennedy, we have to go!” Alex hurriedly exclaims, rushing to the young girl’s side as Chevy and Kayla near closer before pulling her child back, sending her into the arms of the couple that join her in the tavern’s entrance.

“You guys have to go!” Jasmine stammers, pushing Alex away as the woman attempts to help, refusing the assistance as Chevy sends Kennedy into the arms of his wife, directing them to the awaiting vehicle. “We can get you help! We can patch you up and-” the man attempts to plead, trying to return the favour of kindness to the bartender who refuses anything less than their departure.

“It’s too late... Go!” Jasmine pleads for a third time, swatting the man’s hands away as they reach out to help her up, preventing him from assisting her before Alex’s pull guides the man back. “Chevy, she’s not going to come with us...” the mother declares, trying to lead the man who’d been there for her family in ways that makes him just the same, “...we need to go.”

“Come on!” Jaime calls out through the rolled down, passenger’s side window as Kayla holds Kennedy close in the backseat, watching Chevy and her mother climb through the tavern’s entrance to make for their great escape. Joining her daughter in the front seat, Alex buckles herself into the seat whilst the man joins his wife and the young lady she cares for in the back.

Without warning, Jaime’s foot stomps into the gas pedal and thrusts the car forward, kicking up dirt just as they had nearly a year ago- making an escape from the adversity that faces them now as it had before. Without much of a destination in mind, the deposed chancellor begins the long journey into the great unknown, hoping for the best out of what lies ahead, though uncertain over whether this travel will be amongst their final in this life or their first at the start of a new one.

== Dire ==